ICNIRP Guidelines
GUIDELINES FOR LIMITING EXPOSURE TO TIME-VARYING
ELECTRIC, MAGNETIC, AND ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
(UP TO 300 GHz)
International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection*†
INTRODUCTION
IN 1974, the International Radiation Protection Associa-
tion (IRPA) formed a working group on non-ionizing
radiation (NIR), which examined the problems arising in
the field of protection against the various types of NIR.
At the IRPA Congress in Paris in 1977, this working
group became the International Non-Ionizing Radiation
Committee (INIRC).
In cooperation with the Environmental Health Divi-
sion of the World Health Organization (WHO), the
IRPA/INIRC developed a number of health criteria
documents on NIR as part of WHO’s Environmental
Health Criteria Programme, sponsored by the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Each docu-
ment includes an overview of the physical characteris-
tics, measurement and instrumentation, sources, and
applications of NIR, a thorough review of the literature
on biological effects, and an evaluation of the health risks
of exposure to NIR. These health criteria have provided
the scientific database for the subsequent development of
exposure limits and codes of practice relating to NIR.
At the Eighth International Congress of the IRPA
(Montreal, 18–22 May 1992), a new, independent scien-
tific organization—the International Commission on
Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)—was es-
tablished as a successor to the IRPA/INIRC. The func-
tions of the Commission are to investigate the hazards
that may be associated with the different forms of NIR,
develop international guidelines on NIR exposure limits,
and deal with all aspects of NIR protection.
Biological effects reported as resulting from expo-
sure to static and extremely-low-frequency (ELF) elec-
tric and magnetic fields have been reviewed by UNEP/
WHO/IRPA (1984, 1987). Those publications and a
number of others, including UNEP/WHO/IRPA (1993)
and Allen et al. (1991), provided the scientific rationale
for these guide